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Politicians in GTA lack diversity

Only 11 per cent of all 347 GTA elected officials at all levels of governments are held by visible minorities, who make up two of five residents in the region.

By Nicholas KeungImmigration Reporter

Tues., Nov. 8, 2011

NOTE: This article has been edited from a previous version.

Only 11 per cent of the 347 GTA elected officials at the three levels of government are held by visible minorities, who make up two of five residents in the region.

A study released Tuesday by DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project — compiled at the completion of this year’s federal, provincial and municipal elections — found that visible minorities account for 25 per cent or 12 of the 47 GTA seats in the Ontario legislature.

Visible minority group representation is dismal at the federal and local levels — making up 17 per cent of the region’s 47 seats in the House of Commons and just 7 per cent of 253 municipal council seats.

“Who our political leaders are is a critical indicator of Canada’s progress toward inclusion as a diverse society. Elected officials . . . symbolically represent who can be the face and voice of our country, province and city,” said report author Myer Siemiatycki, a professor in politics and public administration at Ryerson University.

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“Government is our shared, public arena and its leadership profile can reflect how power, influence and status are distributed in society.”

The study analyzed all Greater Toronto candidate information and results of all three elections in 2011 based on the definition of visible minorities (non-white and non-aboriginal) under the Employment Equity Act.

It found that both South Asians and Chinese hold 15 of the 38 total visible minority-held elected positions across the GTA. While South Asians predominate federally and provincially, their Chinese counterparts have more seats municipally.

However, four other major ethnic groups — Arabs, Filipinos, non-white Latin Americans and Southeast Asians — have zero representation.

The study also reveals the “geographic” disparities in minority electoral representation.

Visible minorities’ numbers as both candidates and elected members are better in the 905 suburbs than in the 416 area. Within Toronto, they also fare far better in the three former suburbs of Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough than the city core.

Not surprisingly, both provincial and federal parties selected a candidate whose ethnic background matched the largest visible minority subgroup in the riding to run in those races.

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